Mr. Gas is a bubble who was destined to enjoy life in a champagne bottle. But
he's trapped inside a soda water factory and will end up inside a soda water
bottle instead! This cannot be allowed to happen, so Mr. Gas must escape. The
only way out of the factory is a pipe, but it's blocked, and you must roam the
factory and search for the four objects that are required to turn the rusty tap
that opens the gateway to freedom, while avoiding the energy-sapping crabs,
birds, robots and ventilation shafts. Sadly, this is a terrible game with awful,
monochrome graphics and absolutely no sound effects whatsoever, which only adds
to the boredom and monotony of searching the (very large) factory for the four
objects.

2

Mr. Heli is a coin-op conversion in which you guide a cross between a
robot and a helicopter through three different levels. As usual, your task
involves shooting down almost everything you come across while you keep dodging
a variety of bullets and missiles. The cheerful tune and the cute graphics are
likely to fool the player but beware, Mr. Heli isn't an easy game and
you'd better use the power-ups that come up from time to time wisely. To sum up,
a good shoot-'em-up that could have been better if the levels weren't all too
similar.

7

This is a below-average clone of the classic arcade game Pengo, in which
a penguin pushes blocks of ice to kill the enemies, while trying to push parts
of a diamond together. As well as throwing ice at the Sno-Bees (the enemies),
you can also shake the boundary wall to stun them. However, as soon as you kill
a Sno-Bee, another will appear. The early levels are easy, but as you progress,
the Sno-Bees move faster and it's more difficult to escape from them. The
graphics do their job, and the tune is very jolly, but every level is almost
exactly the same as the previous one and things quickly become boring.

5

Mr. Weems delves into the realms of the lair of the She Vampires in his quest to
destroy the Great She Vampire. There are six levels, each of which bristles with
vampires, Frankenstein's monsters and She Vampires, and contact with any of them
reduces Mr. Weems' blood count. Fortunately, there are bottles of blood to be
collected, and you'll also find keys and garlic bombs lying about. You've also
got to find a wooden box on each level, or you'll be unable to kill the Great
She Vampire – if you manage to meet her. Both the graphics and sound effects in
this game are appalling, which lets it down an awful lot. Another thing – it's
much easier to play this game using the joystick.

4

Help Mr. Wong run his laundry by negotiating the platforms and ladders,
collecting the dirty clothes, and throwing them down the chute to be washed.
However, it's not that easy, because Mr. Wong is constantly being chased by a
possessed iron, a sack of dirty laundry, and a cluster of soap bubbles. Well, it
is a loopy laundry, after all! Fortunately, he can fire starch at the
enemies to freeze them temporarily, but his supplies are limited, so it must be
used sparingly. This is a very early platform game, and it shows. The graphics
are very basic, albeit colourful, and the confined playing area makes it quite
difficult to dodge the enemies, and each level looks and plays almost
identically to the previous one.

4

You were dropped on the moon against your will (don't ask me how) and your only
chance to return home is to reach the rocket going back to Earth before it takes
off. Driving a kind of buggy (which fortunately was shipped with two gun
turrets), you must find the key that opens the rocket launchpad and clear your
way through strange bouncing and exploding aliens. The game is divided into five
parts, which are much alike. The difficulty is well balanced and increases
smoothly. You'll soon figure out that the real point of the game is trying not
to run out of fuel. So, you'll have to keep shooting fuel barrels (!), while
jumping over holes and avoiding hostile fire. The realisation is rather good,
with colourful graphics and very good scrolling. It's a pity that the game,
though rather difficult, should be so short.

6

You are the Mobile Man, tasked with a mission to clear the catacombs of
monsters, acid containers and barriers that block your way. You pilot a levi-pod
that can move in four directions. Your weapon shoots a certain coloured blast
which will only take out monsters of the same colour, so flowers of different
colours need to be found to remove other creatures found dwelling in deeper
levels. Acid cans act as barriers that can be shot by finding gaps in the walls
of the maze. Strangely, the occupants of this underground world love barbecues,
and sitting upon one restores your energy! This is an easy game to get into with
a balanced difficulty level. It features lovely graphics and a very pleasant
tune.

8

Elephants are being hunted and killed for their tusks, and you have ventured to
Kenya, travelling through jungles and villages, to arrest two ivory dealers,
bring them to justice and do your bit to stop these magnificent beasts from
being slaughtered. The game starts in a hotel where three rather eccentric
characters are staying. Timing is essential here, as the characters come and go
depending on the time, and there are some areas which can only be accessed at
certain times; the best way to find out when is to experiment. The graphics,
music and sound effects are all excellent and atmospheric and have a real
African feel. The story and concept of the game is a welcome change from the
fantasy and science fiction settings of most adventures.

8

Molecule Man is trapped in a maze consisting of 256 screens – and what's more,
the maze is contaminated with radioactive material! Escaping from the maze using
the teleporter is a good idea, then, but it can only be used once the 16
circuits have been found. While wandering the maze, you will find coins that can
be used to buy bombs (which allow you to blow holes in walls and access other
parts of the maze) and anti-rad pills (which top up your energy). You will need
to buy pills fairly regularly, though. The maze is viewed from an isometric
perspective, and while the scenery is detailed, everything is drawn in
monochrome. This isn't the sort of game that appeals to me that much, but it
also contains a level editor that allows you to design your own mazes – a nice
bonus.

6

Arguably the world's best known board game is poorly recreated on the CPC. Up to
six players, human or computer, can play as they buy properties and then houses
and hotels, and hopefully collect rent when other players land on their
properties. There's also the frustration when you roll the dice and realise that
you're going to land on the 'go to jail' square. Unfortunately, the game moves
extremely slowly. Messages take ages to appear on the screen, and there
are unnecessarily long delays between events. It ruins the thrill of the game
entirely. Stick with the real board game; it's much more fun that way.